I shook myself hard until my scales made tinkling noises. I took flight again and lazily flew to a different section of the creek where sand tended to collect so I could finish my interrupted bath at that location.

To my delight, there was another dragonet just arriving for her own bath. The red dragonet used sand to scrub the scales along my back where my wings prevented me from cleaning it myself. I also cleaned hers for her. Once our scales were clean and shiny, we moved to the side to lie on large rocks.

The sun finally came out from behind the clouds, and I spread my wings to dry and sunbathe. The heat was intoxicating, and yet, somehow energizing. Some days I feel like the cat that I occasionally pretend to be.

I wasn't like a reptile that was slowed or crippled by the cold. I could tolerate it and maintain my body temperature, but much like when I had truly been human, I preferred a more comfortable climate. Thankfully, this place never reached such cold temperatures.

I yawned and eventually got to my feet, stretching my wings even wider as I limbered my muscles up. The red dragonet beside me showed no signs that she was done sunbathing yet, content to remain here by herself for now. She had no mate, and didn’t want one since she still mourned the loss of her family. Many still grieved for lost friends and family from the old human world.

Shaking that thought and my own distant grief away, I folded my wings against my back and jumped towards the sky before letting them unfold to beat against the air. I kept my flight out of sight, which was fairly easily done with my sharp eyes and keen sense of smell. My efforts were helped by the fact that most of the Kymari had returned to the main paths, so I avoided those as I crossed a large portion of the park.

I finally settled in a tree and searched among the branches to find and pluck a small fruit similar to a cherry. I nibbled the sweet fruit away from the large pit while listening to the faint voices in my mind. The other dragonets were using the general mindlink as they spoke to one another.

Most of the discussion was about where they were heading for the day and what their plans were. Life as a dragonet was pretty uneventful and boring. Or as Serena puts it, is the glass half full or half empty? Is it boredom because there is nothing to do or peace because everything has been done? Her and her mind games…

One pair had hatchlings that were still unable to fly, so they were taking some fruit to them. Once they were able to leave the nest, they would either join our Morning Song or rest just beneath the singing dancers.

Our Morning Song had been in this area for the last two days so that they wouldn’t have to travel far. We kept close enough to hear their children's cries if they called out. Luckily, unflighted hatchlings seemed to do nothing but sleep and eat, so they didn't get into any mischief. They doubled in size in during that first week, which was fortunate considering that weasels, foxes, and some other critters were still potential threats.

Other dragonets were bathing or planning breakfast, while the more energetic ones were arranging games of hide and seek or aerial tag. A couple were currently wrestling with each other in the long grass while a handful were heading to remote areas that the Kymari rarely ever ventured, planning games of checkers, chess, and similar pastimes using stones.

We took great care to hide the more intelligent activities from the alien's sight, lest we give ourselves away. They had wiped out the first alien race, and we had no plans to let them realize that we were anything other than a somewhat clever animal.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

From the discussions I was hearing, sunbathing was the main agenda for many; boredom did not affect this form as strongly as it did humans. Like a cat, we were happy with simply being content. Some of us planned our sunbathing where we could spy on the Kymari.

That was my usual way to pass time as well. At least it gives me something to do other than just listening to my thoughts as they roll around in my head.

I took to the air once more, flying to a rocky hillside that overlooked an open area of the park along a pathway. I landed on a fairly narrow ledge before laying down between a shrub and a large boulder. The sun would reach me here almost all day, and I could peek through the bush to watch the area in front of me while remaining invisible behind the plant.

Watching the Kymari was different than watching birds or other small animals. The wild creatures’ behaviors were quite predictable after so long, but the aliens were still somewhat of an enigma. A creepy enigma that I had no desire to get near, but at the very least, their actions would give me something to think about.

It wasn’t long before a pair of females came down the path and sat on a bench as they watched their two children play some sort of game. My mind wandered as I soaked up the heat from the sun.

I still had no idea how the Blood Memories could explain almost every aspect of their behavior and translate their every word, although I suspected that it had something to do with the rumored alien technology that had made this body. From the bits we had overheard in the lab, I suspected that the scientists had found a crashed spaceship at some point.

The Kymari were a far cry from the destructive, roaming white aliens. I had noticed many similarities between humans and the Kymari, but most of the fallacies and darknesses of humankind were simply not present among them. They had no homeless or starving people. Theft or addictions were unheard of.

They cared for their children like precious gems without spoiling them. They greatly respected their elders, and I knew that they all did something to keep their society intact. Even after all of these years, I simply couldn’t wrap my head around it. To think that those scientists targeted me because I was supposedly smart, and I can’t even figure out how their society doesn’t collapse into dust.

I watched one child use a stick to hit a small ball to the other child, who was still mastering the art of walking. If either child got too close, I would be slinking into the narrow gap behind the boulder. Any adult would take even the faintest potential threat of harm to a child seriously.

Oh sure, they let them run around and skin their knees and get bruises in games with others their age, but a creature that might cause harm to a child wouldn’t be tolerated within their cities and parks.

That was why there were no coyotes in the parks anymore. Three coyotes had started stalking a child at a distance before one grew bold enough to go after him. The mother had spotted them before they got to her son, and she had immediately attacked the coyotes in a fury.

Three days later, none of the dragonets could find a live coyote anywhere in the park. Numerous armed males had roamed the forests endlessly with various melee and ranged weapons. Any coyote they found didn't survive the encounter. They took the safety of their children very seriously.

Needless to say, we were very glad that they didn’t know about our ability to breathe fire. That little detail might put us on the short list to extinction. We already knew that it was very difficult to survive outside the Kymari’s walls, so keeping a low profile in their parks was currently our only option.

The group I was watching eventually continued on their way. I examined the sun as it disappeared behind some clouds. So much for sunbathing... I focused on the mind link, listening to the voices once more.

The general mindlink didn't have that large of a range and could barely reach halfway across the park. Thankfully, mindlinking an individual or small group directly seemed to have no limit when it came to distance.

Several within range had already started complaining about the sun's disappearance. I spread my wings and went to visit the group playing chess.